That Potter Boy
by Anime Wildfire
Summary: Lily Evans is forced to accept the help of James Potter and go home with him for the holidays. Lily’s determined to hate him, but she just might learn something about Potter she’s never seen before, and learn that Christmas is truly a time for miracles.
1. That Potter Boy

**I'm a terrible author, really I am. I'm incredibly sorry for not updating in a gazillion years, I just don't have as much time anymore. This story is something I starting working on a long time ago and reciently found it again. At this point it's not quite finished yet, but it's a fairly shorter story so there isn't much left to really write, just basically remembering what I had planned for this story.**

**Also, sorry if there are any name confusions, I ended up changing the names of several characters to names i like better.**

**Disclaimer- I don't own Harry Potter, got it? Good.**

**Full Summery- With nowhere to go for Christmas, Lily Evans is forced to accept the help of James Potter and go home with him for the holidays. Lily's determined to hate him, but she just might learn something about Potter she's never seen before, and learn that Christmas is truly a time for miracles.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

'_Lily,_

_Don't bother coming home for the holidays. I'm going to Vernon's house and mom and dad went to Paris for Christmas._

_Petunia'_

Lily sighed as she reread the letter from her sister. Apparently she was spending the holidays at Hogwarts this year.

Lily glanced towards the window, where it could be seen snowing heavily outside, Luckily, it was nice and warm inside the cozy Gryffindor common room.

The portrait hole swung open and one of Lily's best friends Emma stepped through, her school bag over her shoulder. She spotted Lily sitting in front of the fire and headed towards her, dropping her bag next to the couch and plopping into the seat next to Lily.

"Hey Lily." She said. Lily smiles at her friend. Emma had thick, blonde/brown hair and light brown eyes. She wore a pair of black glasses and was almost always reading a book. She was, in Lily's opinion, Remus's soul mate.

"Hello Emma." Emma smiled at Lily and glanced down at the paper in Lily's hand. "What's that?" Lily handed it to her.

"A letter from my sister. Apparently I'm staying here for Christmas." Emma read the letter before handing it back to Lily.

"That stinks. I'd offer to let you come home with me for Christmas, but my parents and I are going to visit Hannah in Italy." Emma's older sister and her husband lived in Italy.

Lily smiled gratefully at Emma.

"Thanks for the offer anyway." She said. At that moment, the portrait hole swung open and several loud voices could be heard, followed seconds later by Lily's other best friend Bridget, Remus Lupin, Sirius Black, and the perpetual prat of Lily's existence, James Potter.

Bridget Jones, (or Bree, and she preferred to be called) was tall, blonde and athletic. She had long blonde hair, blue eyes, and a killer body from playing Quidditch.

"-Give it up Black, you can't beat me." Bree said, Sirius grinned.

"Oh but I will B, I will." Bree rolled her eyes and spotted her two best friends sitting on the couch.

"Emma! Lily!" She shouted before racing towards them and leaping on the couch next to them, causing Emma to jump.

"Don't scare me like that B!" Emma complained, her hand over her heart.

"Sorry," Bree replied, sitting calmly next to them on the couch. It didn't take long for her to notice the paper in Lily's hands.

"What's that Lils?" She asked. Out of the corner of her eye, Lily noticed James immediately perk up at the mention of her name.

"It's a letter from my sister." Lily handed Bree the letter and explained the situation.

"-And so now I'm stuck here for Christmas." Lily said. Bree handed Lily the paper back.

"Um, Lils, you do know that everyone has to go home for the holidays?" Lily shook her head.

"No, I didn't hear that." Bree and Emma looked surprised. "You didn't get Professor McGonagall's notice?" Lily shook her head. "What notice?"

"Everyone has to go home for Christmas because they have to do some major cleaning charm on the castle or something." Bree said. Emma nodded.

"Yeah, there's some weird fungi growing in the dungeons and the teachers need to perform some spell to get it all out. So apparently no one's allowed to stay for Christmas." Lily groaned.

"What am I going to do? There's no one at my house, Bree is having all her relatives over, and Emma's going to Italy."

"What about Alice?" Emma suggested. Lily shook her head. "She went to Frank's for Christmas." Bree patted Lily on the shoulder. "You're screwed, that's for sure Lils.

Lily groaned again and buried her face in her hands. Then, a voice she dreaded hearing spoke.

"Did I just hear that Lily Evans has no where to go for Christmas?" Lily groaned again, her face still buried in her hands. "Go away Potter."

"Only if you come with me, Lily Flower."

"Over my dead body." Lily retorted.

"You know Lily Flower, I do have a solution to your problem." James said, leaning against the back of the sofa behind Bree.

Lily glanced up at him, feeling slightly hopeful. "And what would that be?" James grinned at her,

"Why, come home with me for Christmas of course." Lily glared at him.

"In your dreams Potter."

"There aren't really any other options, are there?" Lily mentally groaned, he had a point; she had nowhere else to go. Lily sighed.

"I guess I have no choice." James face broke out in a grin. "I knew you'd see it my way." He stood up straight.

"See you later Lily Flower." Lily groaned as he left.

"What have I gotten myself into?"

* * *

1 week later, 3 days before Christmas…

_Why am I putting myself through this?_ Lily wondered. It was three days before Christmas, and the Hogwarts express had just taken the rest of the student's to kings cross. Lily's trunk, of course, was stuck and refused to come out of the train, no matter how hard Lily pulled. Of course, having a stuck trunk wasn't as bad as who she was going home with for Christmas.

Lily had somehow gotten herself stuck going home with Potter for Christmas. Her parents and sister weren't home, and all her other friends were busy. Lily mentally groaned.

A whole holiday with Potter? Lily would rather be eaten by the giant squid.

"Hey Evans!" Lily paused from her pulling and saw Potter headed towards her, a grin on his face. Lily rolled her eyes and returned to trying to get her trunk out. Potter frowned as he stopped next to her.

"Need some help Evans?" Before Lily could protest, James had grabbed her trunk and easily pulled it off the train. Lily blinked in surprise, but before she could thank him, Sirius came running through the crowd towards them.

"Oi! Prongs!" he said, stopping next to them. James grinned at him. "Ready to go Padfoot?" Sirius nodded.

"Yeah, but guess what! I was just talking to that cute Ravenclaw 6th year…" Lily rolled her eyes and ignored them, loading her trunk on a trolley and pushing it towards the barrier, leaving Potter and Black behind.

"Hey Evans! Wait up!" Lily ignored them and continued to the barrier, stopping next to it. Potter and Black ran over and stopped next to her a minute later.

"Geese thanks for waiting Evans." Black grumbled as he and Potter used their wands to summon their trunks. Lily placed her hands on her hips.

"Alright you two, how are we getting there? I'm assuming you don't drive." Black shook his head.

"Nah, we're Apparating." Lily nodded. "That's what I thought."

James and Sirius each put a hand on their trunks. "Alright," James said, "on the count of three. One." Lily's eyes widened. "Wait-"

"Two."

"I don't-"

"Three!"

There was small flash of light, and they were gone. Lily groaned, crossing her arms and sitting on her trunk. Potter and Black had forgotten to tell here where they were going, forcing Lily to wait for them to come back for her.

Sure enough, a minute later, Potter Apparated next to her.

"Sorry Evans." He said, Lily sighed and stood up. James grinned at her.

"You're gonna have to hold on to me so I can Apparate us both." He said smugly. Lily closed her eyes and groaned, opening them as Potter wrapped an arm around her shoulder. He reached his other hand down to touch her trunk.

"Hold on tight." He joked. There was a flash of light, and suddenly Lily was standing in what appeared to be the main hall of a house.

Lily's jaw almost dropped open in surprise. Potter's house was huge! To Lily's left was a large door that Lily had a feeling led to a kitchen, and on Lily's right was a fireplace Lily was certain could fit at least 8 people, and directly in front of her was a double staircase that lead to a balcony hallway. Lily could see at least four doors on both sides.

"Wow…" she muttered, still taking everything in.

"I CALL THE BEDROOM NEXT TO THE BATHROOM!!!!" Sirius raced up the steps to claim his room, using his wand to float his trunk up after him. Lily rolled her eyes, but couldn't keep herself from grinning. Behind her, Potter was busy rummaging through his trunk for something.

"HEY PRONGS! WHO'S THIS PICTURE OF?"

"SIRIUS!" Potter jumped up and raced up the stairs towards his room faster than a snitch, and that was saying something.

Lily rolled her eyes and busied herself by studying the room, waiting for the two immature 17 year olds to stop acting like 2 year olds.

As Lily glanced around, she noticed several pictures hanging on the wall. Curious, she walked closer to take a closer look.

In the first photo, she noticed a much younger James Potter standing with what looked like his parents. They were smiling, and James was sitting on the man's shoulder.

In the second, James was sitting on a broom, his father helping him and his mother standing by proudly holding Quidditch souvenirs.

There were several more pictures, some with just James, some with him and his parents, some with only him and his mother or him and his father, and one or two of just his parents. A few of them even had Sirius in them.

The one Lily liked the most was the family photo. They were all dressed up in fancy clothes, even Sirius, and were all sitting together, smiling and happy…

"SIRIUS!!!" Lily jumped and turned around just in time to see Sirius come tearing out of his room and slid down the banister before running to the kitchen, Potter hot on his heels. Lily stared after them, sighing and shaking her head.

A few minutes later, both boys emerged from the kitchen, Potter clutching something in his hand. He shot a glare at Sirius, and then smiled at Lily.

"Sorry about that Evans. Padfoot thought it was funny to steal an important picture of mine." Sirius stuck his tongue out at Potter before racing back up the steps to his room.

"Anyways, I've got to do something real fast, so you can head on up and pick a room if you want." Lily nodded.

"Ok," Potter disappeared into the kitchen, leaving Lily alone.

Lily decided to take James' advice and find a room, so she headed up the large staircase.

At the top of the staircase was a long hallway with several doors on both the left and right. Lily had no way of knowing which rooms were guest rooms and which were not, so she decided to guess. She decided to take her chances and go right. (After all, right is right, right?)

Lily turned and headed for the first door on the right, but she froze when she saw something through a crack in the door- more specifically, Sirius walking around only in a pair of Quidditch boxers. Lily shuddered and quickly headed for the next door, and the next one, and the next one.

One or two of the doors were locked, and the rest of them were either completely empty or had very few things in them. Finally, Lily came to a door that looked a bit fancier then the rest of them.

Curious, Lily grasped the handle and slowly pushed open the door.

To Lily's surprise, the room was unlike the others. It was painted red and gold, Gryffindor's colors. Posters of Quidditch players were posted on every wall. The huge double bed had a red comforter and silky gold pillows. Clothes littered the floor, and a couple of books were on a desk next to a wooden dresser in the corner. Realization hit Lily; this must be James' room.

Lily quickly closed the door, ignoring the weird feeling in her stomach in knowing this was James' room.

Lily headed for the room next to James', her mouth dropping open as she opened the door.

The room was painted two different shades of green. One a very light, calming green and the other a dark green that exactly matched Lily's eyes.

All the furniture in the room was white; the bed had a matching set of green comforters and pillows. There was a desk next to a window with a window seat that overlooked a garden below. Lily's mouth was still hanging open when she sensed that someone was behind her.

Lily quickly wheeled around, only to find Potter behind her. He smiled.

"My mother designed this room for you when she heard you were coming." He explained, taking a step towards her.

"Sirius and Remus each have their own rooms in this house too, but my mom said she loved doing you room. 'I hope her eyes are as green as you said' she told me." He took another step closer. Lily didn't know what to say. "I…" she took a deep breath and released it slowly.

"I-It's beautiful." James grinned. "I'm glad you like it." He gently took her hand in his and pulled her towards the door.

"Come on, there's someone I want you to meet." Lily pulled her hand from his, but followed him non-the less.

James led Lily to the kitchen, grabbing her hand again as they entered. Lily pulled her hand free, but could not ignore how warm her hand felt after being in his.

"Pepper!" James said. A house elf suddenly appeared in front of them with a crack!

"Yes young master?" James grinned down at the house elf and turned to a stunned Lily.

"There's someone here I want you to meet." He placed a hand on Lily's shoulder. (Which she shrugged off) "Lily, this is one of our house elves, Pepper. Pepper, this is a friend of mine, Lily." Pepper curtsied to Lily.

"Pleasures to meet you Master Potter's Lily. I am Pepper, Master Potter's house elf." Lily smiled slowly, still a little shocked. She smacked James in the chest.

"You own a house elf?" James nodded.

"A few, actually. We've tried setting them free, but they threaten to kill themselves if we do, so we just make sure they get time off instead." Pepper curtsied again.

"Masters and Mistress Potter insist on giving Pepper times off, but Pepper doesn't need time off! Pepper likes doing her work!" James smiled at Pepper.

"Everybody needs time off once in a while." Pepper shook her head. "Not house elves Master Potter. House elves are made for working!"

The clock on the wall began to chime 4 O' clock, causing Pepper to gasp in horror and start pulling her ears and smacking her head on the floor.

"Pepper is such a bad house elf! Pepper forgots to offer Master and Master's mistress lady tea! Bad Pepper!" James immediately seized Pepper in attempt to halt her self-punishment.

"Stop it Pepper!" he shouted, and Pepper immediately stopped, her big eyes filled with tears.

"Master is angry with Pepper." She wailed, James shook his head and set her back on the ground. "I'm not angry Pepper. But please stop hurting yourself." But this only made Pepper wail louder.

"Pepper made Master sad! Bad Pepper!" Lily glared at James and smacked him in the arm. "You're just making it worse!" Potter's mouth dropped open in innocent confusion as Lily bent down to comfort the sobbing house elf.

"Don't cry Pepper! Potter's a jerk, he's not mad at you! He just doesn't want you to get hurt so that you can't help put up Christmas decorations!" Pepper stopped crying and stared up at Lily with big watery eyes. "Master is worried about Pepper?" Lily nodded, and Pepper turned to stare up at James with adoration.

"Master is so kind to Pepper! Pepper will not let Master down!" The clock chimed again, but this time Lily noticed it made a different sound. She, James and Pepper all glanced up at the clock, where the words, 'traveling' appeared above the numbers.

Pepper gasped, "Pepper and Sophie must make tea for Master and Mistress Potter!" She scurried off before either James or Lily could react.

James frowned at the clock, "Hmm, looks like Mum and Dad are coming home early tonight." He glanced at Lily.

"They must really want to meet you." Lily's heart fluttered as James grabbed her hands again and pulled her into the main hall and in front of the enormous fireplace.

"Hey Sirius! Mum and Dad are on their way home!" James shouted up the steps. There was a thud, and Sirius appeared from his room and slid down the banister until he landed in front of Lily and James. Fully clothed, Lily noticed.

"Why Sirius, nice to see you actually wearing pants." Sirius and James looked at her quiz idly before Sirius's face broke into a large grin.

"Why Lilykins, I didn't know you were interested." Both Lily and James scowled.

"I can assure you not. I happened to be walking by your room when your door was ajar. By the way, nice boxers. Though I am still suffering from the postmatic scaring." Sirius opened his mouth to reply, but was cut off by the fireplace erupting in green flames.

The flames died down after a few seconds, and a man and woman stepped out of the enormous fireplace.

"Hey Mum, hey Dad, how was work?" James greeted. Mrs. Potter smiled at her son.

"It was the same as usual dear," she said cheerfully, leaning over to hug her son and kiss him on the forehead. She then reached over to give Sirius his own hug and kiss on the forehead. "Hello Sirius." Much to Lily's surprise, Sirius returned the hug.

"Hey Mum."

Mrs. Potter then turned her attention to Lily while Mr. Potter greeted the boys by ruffling their hair and hugging them each.

"And who might this beautiful young lady be?" James walked over to Lily and wrapped an arm around her shoulder (to which she shoved off.)

"Mum, Dad, this is Lily Evans." Mrs. Potter held out her hand to Lily.

"Nice to meet you Lily. I'm Evelyn Potter, James' mother, but please call me Evelyn." She shook Lily's hand.

"Nice to meet you Evelyn." Lily said. Evelyn Potter had light red hair and the same deep hazel eyes as James.

Mr. Potter held out his hand next. "Hello Miss Evans. I'm Harold Potter, James's father." Mr. Potter had the same thick black hair as James, but his eyes were a dark blue. He shared similar facial features to James- the two looked almost like twins.

Lily shook Mr. Potter's hand, feeling a little awe-struck. "Nice to meet you Mr. Potter."

Before anyone could say another word, there was a crack, and Pepper appeared.

"Welcomes home Master and Mistress Potter! Pepper and Sophie has prepared teas!" Mr. Potter smiled.

'Thank you Pepper, please take it into the dining room." Pepper nodded and curtsied before disappearing with a crack!

Mr. Potter gestured to the kitchen door.

"Shall we all go for tea in the dining room?" Lily, James and Sirius nodded, and they headed for the dining room. But before they had left, a large snowy owl came swooping in through and open window and landed on Lily's shoulder. Lily immediately recognized the bird as her snowy owl Juno.

"Juno," she said, a bit surprised. "What are you doing here? I thought I sent you home." Juno held out her leg, a note in her claws. Lily quickly took it.

'_It's bad enough you own that flying rat. DON'T SEND IT HOME!!!_'

-Petunia.

Lily rolled her eyes and sighed, glancing over at Mr. And Mrs. Potter.

"Would you mind if I kept my owl here? I forgot my sister doesn't like owls." Evelyn shook her head.

"Of course not, she can keep our owls company. Why don't you take her to your room for now? James can show where our owls stay later." Lily nodded, "Thank you," she said, letting Juno step onto her arm before heading up the steps to her room.

* * *

**It's a little short, but it's only the first chapter, I promise they will get longer :) Emma originally used to be called Holly, and Mrs. Potter was originally Athena, so if you see those names anywhere, you'll know who they really are.**

**Thanks for reading!!**


	2. Midnight Wanderings

**So, here's another update :) Enjoy!**

* * *

Lily glared at the clock next to her bed. It read 1:37 am. Lily groaned and pulled the covers over her head.

Lily had been sleeping peacefully until a half an hour ago, when a creaking noise coming from the hallway woke her up, and know, Lily was wide awake.

Creeeeak. The creaking noise sounded once again, causing Lily to groan. Wait a minute. Lily shot up in bed; those creaking sounds sounded an awful like… footsteps!

Lily quickly slid out of bed and pulled a loose robe on over her pj pants and tang top. She quickly snatched up her wand and crept over to her door, pulling it open slowly and peeking out. What she saw surprised her, to say the least.

"Potter?"

James wheeled around at the sound of her voice. He was wearing a pair of pj pants and a white t-shirt that Lily couldn't help but notice outlined his muscles, mostly likely from playing Quidditch.

"Evans?" Lily stepped fully into the hallway, her hands on her hips.

"What are you doing sneaking around at this time of night Potter?" James smirked, crossing his arms.

"I could ask you the same thing Evans." Lily narrowed her eyes at him.

"I came out to investigate the source of the bloody creaking noises that has been keeping me up for the past half hour." Lily said, staring at him.

"Now Potter, are you going to tell my why you've been sneaking around at 1:30 in the morning?" James ignored her question, his smirk growing bigger.

"Am I in trouble Evans?" Lily glared at him. "When are you ever not in trouble, _Potter_?" Lily pointed out. James shrugged, gripping the rails behind him as he stared at her. Lily crossed her arms.

"Why are you staring at me?" James shrugged again.  
"Go to bed Evans." Lily stared at him suspiciously. "Why? So you can go sneaking off again?" James sighed,

"Look Evans, I'm not in the mood for this tonight. I'm going back to bed too, alright?" Lily nodded slowly.

"Alright, fine." She turned and headed back to her room, feeling Potter's eyes bore a hole in her back the whole time.

* * *

Lily was not sure why Evelyn Potter was staring at her, but it was a little unnerving.

The two were sitting at the breakfast table alone. Not one of the three men in the house and come down yet while the two women had been up for almost a half an hour already. They'd decided to make breakfast and not wait for the boys. It was their own fault if they were late for breakfast.

Lily glanced up from her omelet and quickly glanced at Evelyn Potter. She was still staring at her. Lily decided to try and start a conversation.

"Um, this is really good Evelyn." She said, Evelyn smiled at her.

"Thank you dear, I'm glad you like it." Silence filled their air again, so Lily decided to try another topic.

"So um, do Sirius and Po- I mean James usually sleep in this late?" Evelyn nodded, laughing.

"All the time. The usually wonder down around 10 though."

"Oh," Lily said, glancing at the clock on the wall. It was quarter to ten.

"So, Lily," Evelyn said, Lily glanced at her. "Yes?"

"You didn't by any chance bring anything fancy to wear did you?" Lily felt her cheeks go a bit pink; she hadn't thought to bring anything fancy.

"No, I'm afraid I didn't." Evelyn Potter's eyes widened, and Lily recognized the look in them. It was the look her mother had in her eyes whenever Lily came home. Shopping.

"Oh we simply must go to Diagon Ally and get you something fancy to wear!" Evelyn said excitedly.

"Um-" Lily started, but Evelyn waved a finger at her. "No buts! Go get changed! We leave as soon as you get ready!" Lily sighed, realizing she didn't have a choice. She was a bit surprised to find that she actually was a little excited. How in the world was arrogant James Potter ever related to this kind woman? It didn't seem possible.

So Lily headed up the steps to her room, changing into a pair of clothes and tending to her basic hygiene before grabbing her wand and headed down the steps to meet Mrs. Potter.

Evelyn was waiting for Lily at the bottom of the steps wearing a pearl white cloak, an emerald green cloak that once again perfectly matched Lily's eyes in her hands (what is it with Potters and her eyes?!)

James and Sirius decided to wake up and come down the stairs just as Lily slid the cloak on and clasped it under her throat. Both James and Sirius looked curious at the sight of two woman wearing cloaks.

"Where you going?" James asked. Evelyn beamed at him. "Diagon ally. Lily doesn't have anything formal to wear, so I've decided to kidnap her for the day to get her something nice to wear." Sirius and James glanced at each other.

"Can we come?" Mrs. Potter smiled at them. "If you'd like, but we're going to be in clothing stores for a while, trying on clothes for hours…"

"How about we meet you for lunch in a few hours?" James suggested quickly. Mrs. Potter smiled at them, glancing over at Lily.

Lily mentally grimaced at the idea of spending any amount of time with Potter at all, but she had no choice but to answer yes.

"Sounds fine to me." She said. She saw James frown slightly at her flat tone, but she ignored him. Mrs. Potter smiled.

"Great! We'll meet you outside of Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour at noon." Mrs. Potter placed a hand on Lily's shoulder and led her over to the huge fireplace. Lily could feel James' eyes on her as Evelyn grabbed a pinch of the floo powder inside a fancy crystal bowl on the mantel and threw it in.

"Diagon Ally!" She shouted, stepping in the fire and pulling with her. The last thing Lily saw through the green flames was James staring at her.

-0-

"Alright Lily, try this one on next." Lily stuck her hand through the dressing room curtain to take the dress Mrs. Potter handed her.

"And when you're done with that one, I have another one out here I think will fit you beautifuly." Lily smiled as she slid out of her clothes and oulled on the shimmering blue knee length evening dress.

Without even looking in the mirror, Lily stepped out of the dressing room. Mrs. Potter's eyes widened as she saw her.

"Lily! You look beautiful! However…" she tilted her head slightly to the side. "I think green is more your color, which is why I found this!" Mrs. Potter handed Lily a dress on a hanger, which Lily took and headed back into the dressing room. She glanced at herself in the mirror before she changed.

"Hm, Evelyn was right, blue isn't really my color." She quickly shimmered out of the blue dress and slid into the knee length green dress. And this time, when Lily stepped out of the dressing room, Mrs. Potter gasped.

"Lily Evans! That dress is perfect! You have to get it!" Lily felt her face heat up.

"you think so?" Mrs. Potter nodded, her eyes beginning to sparkle with mischief.

"I don't think James would mind at all if you wore it." Lily felt her face heat up even more, and she noticed Mrs. Potter's face broke out into a grin. Lily scrunched her nose up teasingly.

"Well it doesn't matter what he thinks, does it?" Mrs. Potter rolled her eyes. "Teenagers…" she muttered. She gestered towards the dressing room, a smile on her face.

"Go change so we can buy the dress, and then we can head over to Florean Fortescue's and meed the boys." Lily nodded and headed back into the dressing room, slipping out of the dress and back into her clothes. She carefully hung all the dresses back on their hangers before departing, the green dress over her arm.

Mrs. Potter paid for the dress. ("really Lily, it was only 15 galleons, not that big of a deal.") And the two women left for the icecream parlor. On the way, they passed a book store, and Lily felt her eyes widen as she spotted a book she'd wanted for ages sitting in the window. Mrs. Potter smiled slyly as she watched Lily stare at the book with her nose pratically pressed against the window.

"Oh Lily dear, I forgot I need something in one of the shops. Why don't you go ahead and I'll catch up with you?" Lily hesitated, but agreed and headed down the alley towards the ice cream parlor. As soon as she was around the corner, Mrs. Potter slid smiling into the bookstore. (**A/N well that's not obvious or anything... lol)**

-0-

Lily walked slowly down the alley, walking slow on purpose so she could glance into the shop windows as she passed by.

Just as Lily rounded the corner next to Florean Fortescue's, she caught a glimpse of what looked like black hair and hazel eyes.

_Potter?_ She thought. She looked closer, but no one in the shop looked anything like James Potter. Likely glanced up at the sign of the store, and immediately knew she was wrong, seeing as the store was a jewelry store. Even so, Lily couldn't help but stare for a minute at the beautiful jewelry in the store window…

A few minutes later, Lily sat at a table in front of Florean Forescue's ice cream parlor, waiting for either James, Sirius or Evelyn Potter to show up. Lily glanced down at her watch, it was ten after twelve.

_Where in the world are they? _She wondered, clicking her fingers impatiently against the table. Just as she thought this…

"Hey Evans!" Lily turned to see James and Sirius headed her way, Sirius waving at her like a mad man. Lily rolled her eyes and turned her back to them, waiting for them to make it over.

"Hey Lily," James said as he and Sirius sat opposite of her. Lily nodded in greeting as James glanced around, noticing she was alone.

"where's my mum?" he asked.

"She said she forgot something and told me to go ahead of her. She should be here soon." Lily said.

As if on cue, Mrs. Potter came around the corner, carrying a bag in each hand. She smiled at the sight of the three seventeen year olds.

"Hello Sirius, hello James." She greeted the boys. They nodded at her as she sat down next to Lily.

"So, how about lunch and some ice cream?" she suggested.

The three teens happily agreed.

* * *

After lunch, the four of them had some ice cream before returning to the Potter Manor. James had insisted on carrying his mother's bags for her (to which she kissed him on the forehead, causing his cheeks to turn pink)

Lily also noticed that the two boys had a bag or two of their own. One from Zonko's and one from the Quidditch store (to which Lily couldn't remember the name of)

James also had a small bag from another store, but there was no logo on the bag, so Lily had no idea where it had come from.

Lily had quite a few bags of her own. She and Mrs. Potter had stopped at a few stores to get some Christmas presents. Lily had gotten Emma a bottle of ink that changed color and made her name flash whenever she wrote it, Alice a charm bracelet that would coo and say funny things whenever her boyfriend Frank walked by, Bridget a poster of her favorite Quidditch player, Remus a book he'd wanted on magical creatures, (wonder why he'd want that?) Peter a bag of chocolate frogs, and James and Sirius each a mini version of their broomsticks that she'd charmed to actually fly.

Lily had hidden all her gifts (including the dress Mrs. Potter bought her) under her bed and away from snooping eyes before deciding to ask Mrs. Potter if there were any books she can read.

Lily managed to track Mrs. Potter down (she was in the kitchen) and as her if there were any books she could read. Mrs. Potter cheerfully steered Lily to the library ("right this way dear, I'm glad you like books, they could use a day off the shelves")

Lily felt her jaw drop as she entered the library.

There were shelves on every wall, each as high as the ceiling and filled with books. A couple of squishy-looking chairs were spread around the room, some in front of a large fireplace that was the only part of the walls with no shelves.

Lily immediately headed for the nearest bookshelf, oblivious to Mrs. Potter slipping quietly from the room and heading back to her kitchen.

Lily was in the library for hours reading books. To her surprise, she found several muggle classics on the shelves as well. Including Romeo and Juliet, Pride and Prejudice, crime and punishment, and Much ado about nothing. She decided to ask Mrs. Potter about them later.

Lily also found a very interesting book on animagi, which she spent quite a while reading.

In sixth year, Lily had been astounded to discover that James, Sirius and Peter were animagi, and that Remus was a werewolf. She had been shocked at first, but gradually accepted it and even felt a bit at awe that James, Sirius and Peter would go to such lengths to help their friend.

Lily hadn't told them she knew, and she didn't plan on telling anyone else either, although she suspected Emma knew about Remus.

Lily was a bit worried about them of course. Becoming an animagi was not exactly the safest thing, so Lily had taken it upon herself to read as much as she could about animagi and the dangers it involved, as well as any treatment she could find should they get hurt. She also read as much as she could about werewolves, learning everything from how to identify one to how to treat one or someone bitten by one.

And this was exactly how Mrs. Potter found Lily several hours later, curled up in the library reading a book on werewolves.

"Lily, it's dinner time. And we have another guest." She said before disappearing back into the kitchen. Lily snapped the book closed and tucked it along with her book on animagi under her arm before heading for the kitchen.

"Mrs. Potter-"

"_Evelyn_ Lily."

"Right, I just have to run these books up to my-" Lily broke off as she saw Remus sitting at the kitchen table with Sirius and James. She quickly dropped her books on the counter.

"_Remus_!" she said happily, running up to hug him. Remus looked a bit surprised as he hugged her back, while James scowled under his breath.

"Hi Lily, how's your holiday been so far?" Lily took a step back.

"As well as it can be considering I've been stuck with these two with only Mr. And Mrs. Potter for sane company." Remus laughed.

"It's a miracle you're still sane." Lily laughed and scooped her books up from the counter.

"I'll be right back, I've got to run these up to my room." It was then that James, Sirius and Remus all caught a glimpse of the book titles. They all visible paled and shot each other worried glances. Lily noticed, but pretended she didn't.

"Well I'll be back." She said before headed up to her room.

The three boys continued to glance at each other with worried expressions.

* * *

That night, Lily was once again woken up by the creaking sound, but this time, she knew it was James sneaking around again, and she decided to follow him.

Lily slid out of bed and pulled on her robe, snatching up her wand from the table next to her before opening the door a crack.

There he was. Lily could see the top of his head as he snuck down the stairs, trying to make as little noise as possible.

Lily slid out of her room and closed the door behind her without a sound, tiptoeing over to the edge of the stairs and looking down.

James had just reached the bottom of the steps and was headed for the kitchen, glancing around to make sure no one saw him.

Lily snorted, _yeah, like anyone's going to be up following him at this time of night._ Lily mentally pushed aside the fact that she just contradicted what she'd thought.

Smirking to herself, Lily quickly pointed her want towards the stairs. "_Silencio_!" she whispered, her eyes on James to make sure he hadn't heard her.

Luckily, James was too busy making sure no one was watching him to notice that Lily was following him.

_What an idiot._ Lily thought as she tiptoed down the now-silent stairs._ He should have just thought to use a charm or something._ Lily mentally smacked herself on the forehead, an invisibility charm!

Ranting at herself mentally, Lily quickly cast an invisibility spell and headed through the door to the kitchen she'd seen James go through.

_Where'd he go?_ She wondered. _Maybe the library?_ Lily knew the library was next to the kitchen, so she quickly snuck around to the large French doors that she'd gone through yesterday, intending to catch him as he left.

But to Lily's surprise, he wasn't there. Lily quickly shut the French doors behind her and tiptoed around the room, looking for any sign of James.

Then, she heard voices, so low she could barely hear them.

"-You doing?"

"-Any day-"

To Lily, it almost sounded as if it was coming from the fireplace, but no one was over there. Then she realized, it was coming from the kitchen!

Lily crept over to the kitchen door, hearing only silence, and pushed it open slowly, peering her head inside. She completely forgot she was invisible.

To her disappointment, no one was there.

Lily sighed in disappointment and entered the kitchen, making sure to close the door quietly behind her.

Seeing as no one was there, Lily waved her wand and removed her invisibility charm. She glanced around the neat kitchen before making her way slowly towards the door that lead to the main hall.

"Lily?" Lily turned at the sound of her name to see James, no, _Potter_ standing behind her. He looked surprised to see her.

"What are you doing down here?" he asked. Lily narrowed her eyes at him.

"What am I doing down here?! What are you doing down here?!" she hissed, her hands on her hips. Potter sighed.

"This again Evans? I though we dropped this." Lily shook her head.

"No way. Why do you keep sneaking off down here? What are you hiding?" Potter looked a little nervous, but he shook his head.

"It doesn't matter." Lily rolled her eyes.

"If it doesn't matter, then why are you sneaking down here?" Potter ran his hand through his hair.

"Look Lily, it's late, I promise I'll tell you everything, but not right now." Lily sighed, deciding to cut him some slack on this one.

"Alright, but promise you will eventually explain everything to me?" James nodded, leaning against the counter he'd previously been hiding behind. "Promise." He stepped forward and placed his hands on Lily's shoulder, turning her around and pushing her towards the steps.

"Now if you don't mind, I'd like to go back to bed sometime before the sun comes up." he pushed Lily all the way up the steps to her room, where she shrugged his hands off her shoulders.

"Night Lily," James said. Taking a few steps towards his room.

"Night… James." Lily said before disappearing into her room. As soon as she'd gone, a smile spread across James' face.

------------------

**Lily and James' conversation in the beginning of this chapter is one of my favorite scenes in the whole story :) lol. I'll try to have the next chapter up within a few days :) review please!!**


	3. Letters

**I have to admit, the letter from Lily's mum is my favorite part of this chapter. lol enjoy!!!**

* * *

Lily held the piece of paper in her hands, staring at it.

She was sitting in a desk she found had appeared in the Potter's library. (She suspected this room had a touch of the 'come and go' room to it)

Slowly, Lily opened the paper and read what it said.

_My dearest Lily,_

_How is your Christmas vacation so far? You're staying at the…Potter mansion, right? Wasn't that the name of the boy you are always ranting about? Jacob Potter or something like that?_

_Paris is beautiful. Next time we'll plan on taking you and Petunia with us. I know you two will love it here! Anyway, your father and I will be coming home a few days after Christmas, maybe you could poof or puff in the fireplace like you did last break? I miss you Lily, have a fun Christmas, and try to get along with that Potter boy, ok? We sent your gift with that owl of yours, but don't open it until Christmas!_

_We love you very much Lily, Merry Christmas!_

_Love, _

_Mum & Dad_

Lily glanced up from the letter to the neatly wrapped package next to her as she read, smiling slightly. Mum always was good about getting gifts on time.

Lily set her mother's gift aside and picked up the other piece of parchment Juno had brought with her.

_So you freaks celebrate Christmas do you? Well I suppose I have to wish you a merry Christmas. So Merry Christmas freak. Your present is including with the letter._

_Petunia._

Lily glanced down to find a coin taped to the piece of paper. She sighed sadly, setting the letter next to her mother's.

Lily still had yet to send her sister's gift, a fancy copy of her favorite book. Lily planned on sending it as soon as Juno had returned.

Lily was about to get up and fetch her quill and some parchment from her trunk when, to her left, she noticed a quill and parchment at the edge of the desk. She smiled softly and took them, dipping the quill into the ink that had appeared with the parchment and writing slowly.

_Dear Petunia,_

_Thanks for the, er, coin. It's much appreciated._

_How is everything at home? It must be quiet without anyone else there. It's sad I won't be able to make it home for Christmas this year, but I'm guessing mom and dad are having a blast in Paris, judging by Mum's letter._

_Have a very merry Christmas! _

_Love,_

_Lily_

Lily set the quill aside before reading over her letter, making sure it sounded ok before she bound it and Petunia's present to Juno and carried her over to the window to send her off.

She watched Juno fly off until she was too far away for Lily to see her. Lily decided to read a book after that, to pass the time away for a bit. At least until Mrs. Potter called her for dinner.

Sure enough, an hour or two later, Mrs. Potter poked her head into the library and announced that it was time for dinner.

So Lily set her book aside and joined everyone for dinner, which included Mr. And Mrs. Potter, James, Remus and Sirius.

"Why don't you sit here Lily? Right in between Remus and James… There you go." Lily could practically see the mischievous gleam in Evelyn Potter's eyes as she seated Lily next to James. Lily felt particularly pouty after that.

Everyone sat down after that, and Pepper served dinner, along with a house elf that Lily didn't recognize. James immediately took care of that.

"Oh yeah. Lily, this is another one of our house elves, Zippy." Zippy bowed to Lily.

"Pleasure to meets you Miss Evans. Is am Zippy." Lily smiled at Zippy.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Zippy." Zippy looked a little bashful at Lily's friendly greeting and quickly departed.

Mrs. Potter was beaming all through dinner. Finally, as Pepper and Zippy brought out dessert, she couldn't hold it any longer.

"As you four know, tomorrow is Christmas eve." Mrs. Potter said to Lily, James, Sirius and Remus. The four paused from their desserts.

Evelyn Potter looked ready to burst from excitement at any minute. "So tomorrow my sister Abby and her family are coming over for dinner!"

James, Sirius and Remus shot each other glances.

"You mean Aunt Abby?" James said; Evelyn nodded. "Yes, I know you obviously know her, and I think Sirius has met her already, but Remus and Lily haven't met them yet. And guess what? She's bringing Julian and Elliot with her!" Remus and Lily shot each other confused glances.

"Who?" Remus asked, pausing from his dessert. Evelyn smiled.

"My nephews and James' cousins. Julian is five and Elliot is less than a year old." Lily's eyes widened. She loved children, especially babies. But she wasn't too sure if these kids were related to James…

But of course, these children were related more so to Mrs. Potter than James himself.

"They sound cute." Lily said, Mrs. Potter beamed.

"I had a feeling you'd like them Lily. You seem like the kind of girl who really likes children." Lily blushed a little.

"I love children, and I definatly want to have some of my own someday." Sirius was the only one who noticed that James had gone very quiet during this conversation. He nudged him in the arm, a smirk on his face. James shot him a glare.

The table fell silent after that, the only noise being James and Sirius's snickers as they tried to see who could eat more in the time of one minute.

Lily and Mrs. Potter glanced at each other, rolling their eyes. Mr. Potter was reading the newspaper, but Lily could see him glancing at the boys every few seconds out of the corner of his eye, a slight smirk on his face. Lily mentally sighed. Like father like son.

The room was quiet for several minutes, until Pepper suddenly Apparated in the room looking a bit frantic.

"Master James! Pepper and Sophie needs your helps! Twinkie is-" She was cut off by James jumping up from his chair.

"I'm coming Pepper." He turned to his mother. "Scuse' me a minute mum." He said before rushing after Pepper into the kitchen. Lily wanted to ask what was going on, but the rest of the occupants at the table were being strangely quiet, and Lily had a feeling they weren't going to spill. So, she decided to let the subject drop.

For now.

* * *

After dinner, Lily decided to go to the small owlry the Potter's owned. She'd been there before, when Potter and Black had helped her take Juno up there, but she hadn't really had the chance see it otherwise.

Like Hogwarts, it was in a tower, one of the highest rooms in the Potter Manor. Owls must be more comfortable with heights.

Juno obviously wasn't there when Lily was up there, but the Potter's five owls and Sirius and Remus's owls were.

James' owl Leonardo hooted when he saw Lily and flew over to her from his perch, landing on her arm. She smiled at him.

"Hello Leo," she reached a hand up to stroke several of his feathers. "Quite the handsome fellow, aren't you?" He hooted in response.

Lily glanced up at the other owls hooting, James and Sirius and introduced them to her when they'd brought Juno up before.

Mr. Potter's owl's name was Opa, which, oddly enough, meant owl. ("My husband, he's so uncreative.") Mrs. Potter's owl's name was Sharise, which meant grace, beauty and kindness. James's owl was Leonardo, which meant brave lion. ("Get it Lily? Brave lion? Gryffindor?")

The Potters had two other owls, named Satria (meaning warrior) and Hart (meaning stag). James had explained they were family owls, mostly used for delivering ministry letters.

Both Sirius and Remus's owls had their own perch in the Potter's owlry. Sirius's owl was named Melinda, which meant Black and Beautiful. ("Why am I not surprised you named your owl Black and Beautiful?")

Remus had chosen a more sentimental name. Godric. Named, obviously, after Godric Gryffindor.

As Lily was speaking to Leo in a low voice, another owl came flying through the window. Lily instantly recognized the spotted feathers of Emma's owl Faye.

Faye landed on a perch next to Lily, hooting softly and holding out her leg, which had a piece of yellow stationary tied to it.

Lily untied the stationary from Faye's leg, unrolling the stationary to read Emma's letter.

_Dear Lily,_

_How's your vacation so far? Has Potter been extremely annoying as usual? Italy's amazing. The architecture here is beautiful, I've taken dozens of photos. You should have seen the look on Mum's face when a bunch of pigeons mistook her for a tree and landed on her! Haha, I got a picture of it._

_Also, I've got some really great news, my sister's gonna have a baby! I'm sooo excited! I'm going to be an aunt! She told us last night over dinner (I swear all we've eaten since we got here is pasta) that's why she wanted us to come visit! You should have seen Ned- you remember Hannah's husband right? He was so proud; I thought he was going to burst! He had this silly grin on his face the whole time, and he had his chest all puffed out- it was hilarious!_

_So what have you been up to? Owl me right away! I want to know all the details about staying at Potter's for Christmas! Write back soon!_

_XO, Emma._

Lily smiled at Emma's letter, folding it back up and slipping it back into her pocket. She'd write back right away. She turned to Faye.

"Wait right here ok? I'm gonna write her back real quick." Faye hooted quietly to Lily as Lily ran from the owlery to her room, grabbing a piece of parchment and a quill before leaping on her bed and writing the letter.

_Dear Emma,_

_Congratulations! You're so lucky to be in Italy, I'd rather be anywhere but here right now. Everything here's been… average. I can't say completely bad, because Mrs. Potter isn't really that bad. She's very sweet, and she's taken me shopping and kept me company. Potter, however, is acting very suspicious. I've caught him sneaking out at one in the morning twice. He's up to something, and I'm going to find out what._

_I want to see all your photos when you get back! Make sure you tell your sister Congratulations for me, and tell your parents too! Can't wait to see you after break! By the way, have you heard from Bree or Alice at all? I haven't heard from them, and I just send Juno out with Tuney's Christmas gift._

_Merry Christmas! XO, _

_Lily_

Lily quickly sealed her letter and raced off to the owlery to send it, nearly running over a confused Sirius on the way. She tied the letter as fast as she could Faye's leg and carried her to the window, sending her off to Italy with the letter.

Lily was in a strangely over cheerful mood the rest of the day.

-0-

That night, Lily woke up around one in the morning and listened to see if James was sneaking out again, intent on following him and finding out what he was hiding.

He didn't sneak out that night, and a confused Lily went back to sleep, pondering what in the world Potter was up to.

* * *

**hhmmmm... I wonder what our handome Mr. Potter is up too.... anyone have any guesses?? PM them to me if you will! I'd love to hear some of your ideas!!! please review!!!**


	4. Diagon Alley

**I know, it's been forever. Don't yell at me please...**

Despite waking up at one in the morning to try and catch James, Lily slept surprisingly well, waking up feeling refreshed and excited. She knew it was too soon to receive a letter from one of her friends, but it still made her feel giddy.

Her good mood was quickly squished as she entered the kitchen for breakfast.

Potter and Sirius were sitting at the table, eating toast, bacon and sausage while they talked in low voices. They immediately stopped talking as soon as Lily entered the room however.

"Morning Evans. Sleep well last night?" Potter said, a grin on his face and a knowing look in his eyes. Lily glared back at him.

"Yes, as a matter of fact I did. No bloody creaking to wake me up," she said as she helped herself to a large plate of toast that was in the middle of the table.

Evelyn Potter entered the room a second later, wearing a large apron that said 'kiss the cook'. She smiled as she saw Lily.

"Good morning Lily, can I get you anything else?" Lily shook her head. "This is fine thank you." Mrs. Potter waved her hand towards the numerous plates on the table filled with food.

"Help yourself to whatever you want. Merlin knows not even these boys can eat all of this food." She shot a playful glare at James and Sirius, who grinned innocently at her.

"So Mum, when's Aunt Abby coming?" James asked, trying to change the subject.

"Sometime around noon." Evelyn replied, "She wanted to help with dinner and maybe take the kids shopping for a while." Lily perked up at the aspect of kids and shopping.

"I'll take them!" She volunteered. "It'll give you and your sister some peace and quiet to cook dinner!" Evelyn smiled at Lily, as if she'd known she would say that.

"You don't mind Lily?" Lily shook her head. "Of course not! I don't mind at all."

"In that case, thank you Lily, it would be much easier to cook dinner without four children running around the house like crazy." Lily looked confused.

"I thought your sister only had two kids?" Evelyn smiled at her. "I was referring to James and Sirius as well." James and Sirius pretended to look hurt.

"Mum! We don't run around like kids!" James protested. His mother smiled at him.

"There's no need to be embarrassed James. It really is a big help when you and Sirius keep Julian and Elliot busy." James and Sirius both blushed a little. "Mum you're embarrassing us." Sirius mumbled. Lily laughed,

"Really guys, there's no shame in keeping kids occupied for your parents. I used to play with the neighborhood kids when I was little, their parents were so grateful!" Evelyn beamed at Lily.

"Thank you Lily. Are you sure you don't mind watching the boys?" (Referring to James and Sirius as well) Lily shook her head. "Not at all, we can go to Diagon alley for a while and shop around."

"I'll help too." James quickly said, his eyes on Lily. Lily pretended not to notice.

"Moony and I'll help as well." Sirius said.

"-Moony will help with what?" Remus said as he came into the kitchen, yawning. He sat between Sirius and Lily.

"Morning Remus." Lily said,

"Morning Lily." Remus replied. "Help with what now?"

"Help with taking Julian and Elliot to Diagon alley for a while so Evelyn and her sister can cook dinner." Lily said, Remus nodded.

"Sure, I'll help. Anyway, if those two are coming along-" he nodded towards Sirius and James. "-You'll need all the help you can get."

James and Sirius pretended to looked insulted again. "Moony! Whose side are you on?" Remus just shook his head at them.

"You don't want me to answer that." He replied. James and Sirius pouted at him.

-0-

A few hours later, right around noon, the four Gryffindors were lounging around in the library doing some homework (at least Lily and Remus were) while they waited for Evelyn's sister and her family to arrive. Lily and Remus were working on their potion essays while James and Sirius amused themselves playing wizard's chess.

"Ha! Tell your knight to take that!" James said as his queen captured Sirius's knight. Sirius smirked at him.

"Tell your bishop to watch for my pawn!" James glanced down at the board and groaned, slapping his hand on his forehead. Lily and Remus rolled their eyes.

"How many feet do you have?" Lily asked Remus, comparing her essay with his.

"Almost 3, how many do we need?" he asked, glancing at her parchment.

"3 feet or more." Lily said, "I'm almost done, can you help me with Transfiguration later? It's the only subject I have trouble in." Remus nodded just as James jumped to his feet.

"I'll help you Lily! Transfiguration is my best class!" Sirius and Remus nodded. "It's true, he could help you a lot more than I could." Remus said, turning back to his essay. Lily hesitated, but finally sighed and nodded.

"All right Potter, let me just finish this." James waited patiently for 10 minutes while Lily finished writing her essay.

"Ok, what do you need help-" he was interrupted by Evelyn sticking her head in the library.

"Lily! James! Sirius! Remus! My sister is here! Come say hi!" James mentally cursed his luck as the four left the library to meet his aunt.

As the four stepped into the hall, James' parents and four others that could only be Evelyn's sister and her family greeted them.

Evelyn beamed at the four of them. "Lily, Remus, I'd like you to meet my sister, Abby, her husband, Jake, and their two children, Julian and Elliot."

Abby had the same red hair as her sister, but her eyes were a light blue instead of hazel. Her husband had light blondish brown hair and light brown eyes. Julian and Elliot both had their mother's light blue eyes and their father's light blonde/brown hair.

"It's so nice to meet you! Evelyn has told us so much about you!" Abby said cheerfully, smiling brightly at them. She had the same smile as her sister.

She offered one hand to shake; little Elliot held in her other arm. Lily and Remus shook her hand. Her attention turned to James and Sirius next.

"James, Sirius, you both are so grown up." She said, smiling at them. Both boys reached up to hug her.

"It's good to see you Aunt Abby." James said. "And you too Julian and Elliot." While the Sirius and James greeted the boys, Lily and Remus were introduced to Jake.

"All right everyone!" Evelyn said, clapping her hands. "Abby, Lily and the boys have offered to take Elliot and Julian to Diagon Alley while you and I cook dinner. Harold dear, why don't you and Jake keep each other company?"

Mr. Potter and Abby's husband Jake headed off, while Abby and Evelyn fetched cloaks for Lily and the three Marauders. Lily held Elliot for Abby, cooing at him and making him laugh while James watched with fond eyes.

When Evelyn and Abby returned, they handed Lily and the Marauders their cloaks (Elliot and Julian were already wearing theirs) and escorted them to the fireplace. Lily held Elliot while James carried Julian, and they were off to Diagon Alley.

-0-

"So where do you three want to head first?" Lily asked as they stepped out of the fireplace in the leaky cauldron. James, Sirius and Remus glanced at each other.

"Zonkos!" They said at the same time. Lily rolled her eyes.

"All right then, why don't you three head over to Zonko's while I take Elliot and Julian to that magical children's store?" The Marauders threw each other uneasy glances.

"I don't know Lily, it might be dangerous by yourself…" Remus said. Lily rolled her eyes.

"I'll be perfectly fine. I'm a witch perfectly able of performing magic." The three boys still looked uneasy.

"Still Lily, I know we'd all feel better if you didn't go alone." James said. Lily sighed,

"Fine, how about Julian, Elliot and I wait at Florean's across the street from Zonko's while you nuts shop. Deal?" They nodded.

"Then let's go." Lily said.

Five minutes later, Lily and the two boys were sitting outside Florean's sharing a Sundae (individual ones would have spoiled dinner) while James, Sirius and Remus were in Zonko's.

"How's that sundae taste Julian?" Lily asked as she helped Elliot. Julian smiled crookedly at her.

"Its good!" He said, spooning a huge bite into his mouth. Only, the bite was so big he couldn't fit all the icecream in his mouth, and part of it ended all over his face. Lily laughed at the sight of his face covered in icecream.

"Let me help you with that Julian," she giggled, leaning over to clean his face with a napkin. Julian dug into the ice crean for another bite, then stopped and looked around.

"Where James?" he asked, looking up at Lily. Lily inhaled sharply, glancing towards Zonko's.

"He's in a store. He'll be out soon." She said, Julian smiled and nodded before returning to his ice cream. Elliot, meanwhile turned to Lily and threw his arms around Lily.

"Wove Wily." He mumbled. Lily reached down and hugged him. "I love you too Elliot." He smiled at her pointed to the ice cream, indicating he wanted more. Lily laughed and spooned him another bite.

"Oi! Prongsette!" Lily glanced up to see the three Marauders headed their way, each carrying a bag Lily was surely filled with objects to be used in future pranks.

"Prongsette?" Lily asked in confusion. Sirius smirked at her.

"Well, seeing as Jamesie here is Prongs…" Lily huffed and rolled her eyes, standing up to help Julian and Elliot out of their seats.

"You are crazy. Can we please get going now?" Lily asked as she swung Elliot up in her arms. James nodded as he helped Julian out of his seat. "Yep, let's get a move on."

And so the group made their way to the magical children's store, The Magic Playpen. (**A/n lame name I know, but I couldn't think of anything else**)

"Want down! Want down!" Julian began to squirm in James' arms as soon as he saw the toy store. James, however, refused to let him down until they reached the store entrance, knowing his cousin would take off as soon as he was set down.

Sure enough, Julian tried to take off as soon as his feet touched the ground, but James quickly caught the back of his cloak and pulled him back, firmly taking his hand and shooting him a warning look. The entire time Elliot sat calmly in Lily's arms, waiting patiently to be told he could go play. He began shooting adorably pleading looks at Lily, who, after a minute, caved and set him on the ground, making sure to hold as firmly onto his hand as James was to Julian.

"Where do we want to go first?" Remus asked.

"Broomswicks! Broomswicks!" Julian ecstatically exclaimed just as Elliot said "bwocks! Bwocks!" Lily sighed, turning to face the three boys.

"Well, should we split up?" she suggested. The three Marauders shot each other glances.

"I suppose we could." Remus said. "Sirius, why don't you go with Lily and Elliot? James and I will take Julian." He shot both James and Sirius a teasing glare. "I don't trust you two alone with broomsticks and Julian." They all laughed at that, and agreed to Remus' plan. Although James was a little reluctant to be separated from Lily.

"Alright Prongsette! To the blocks we go!" Sirius said, pumping his fist in the air. Elliot giggled while Lily rolled her eyes.

"Stop calling me Prongsette. My name is Lily." She said. Sirius grinned.

"Alright then Lilyflower, it's off to the blocks!" He started walking dramatically the wrong way, causing Lily to roll her eyes.

"Sirius, you're going the wrong way." She called after him. He stopped in his tracks, wheeled around and continued his dramatic walk, only this time in the right direction.

Lily rolled her eyes as she and Elliot followed him.

-0-

15 minutes later….

"Oi! Pronsette!" Lily sighed as Sirius came running up to her, another object in his hands. She glared at him.

"How many times do I have to tell you to stop calling me Prongsette?" Sirius grinned. "Sorry Lilyflower, I forgot you don't like being branded as James'." Lily huffed and turned her back to him, causing Sirius to jump around her to face her.

"So Evans, you think Prongs will like this??" He thrust an object under Lily's nose. Lily grabbed it and found herself staring at a small glass jar. She raised her eyebrows.

"Why am I holding a jar of itching powder?" Sirius looked appalled.

"It's a gift for Prongs Evans," he said matter-of-factly, his voice so serious that Lily couldn't help bursting out into laughter.

When Lily was finally able to stop laughing, she found Sirius staring at her, one eyebrow cocked with a look on his face that clearly said he thought she was nuts.

"Right," Lily said, finally able to control her laughter. "I think itching power is a bad idea Black. You never know whose bed it may end up in. Which will probably be mine." Sirius grinned innocently.

"Why Prongsette-" he said, ignoring Lily's hiss at the nickname, "-who ever said _anything_ about putting itching powder in your bed?" Lily rolled her eyes.

"You're as predictable as a flubberworm Black." **(A/N hehe)**

"I take offense to that Evans! _Nothing_ is as predictable as a flubberworm." Lily rolled her eyes, trying not to laugh as she plucked the jar from a pouting Sirius and stuck it back on the shelves, throwing Sirius a stern look as she saw him look longingly towards the jar.

"Forget it Black, its not gonna happen." Sirius shot Lily a dirty look. "Spoil sport…" he grumbling, stalking off to undoubtedly find something else to prank with. Lily watched him go, trying not to laugh.

"Lilwy…" Elliot said, tugging on Lily's hand. She turned her attention to him, and he stared up at her with big blue eyes.

"Bwock Lilwy, bwocks." Lily smiled, nodding to him.

"Ok Elliot, let's go find the blocks. Sirius'll catch up with us eventually." Lily led Elliot down several isles until she found a small playroom like area where several young wizarding children were already playing with various toys. One girl was sitting in a corner playing with a doll that was chatting in rapid French while the young girl combed her charmed hair as it flashed different colors. Next to her was a young toddler sucking his thumb whose eyes never left the small charmed broomstick zooming around in a circle in front of him.

Lily led Elliot into the play area, watching as he made a beeline for the magical blocks that were currently floating a foot in the air. Lily followed him, pulling up small chair while Elliot plopped himself down in the middle of the blocks, snatching them out of the air to begin building a small tower. Lily watched him, picking up a small toy wand lying next to the chair and giving it a wave. Small purple sparks shot out of the wand, and a Quidditch player action figure rose a foot in the air before dropping straight back down, causing Lily to giggle. Elliot shot her a puzzled look before returning to his floating blocks.

Half an hour later, Elliot was beginning to pout as the small tower he'd built kept floating in the air, no matter how many times he pulled it back down. Lily couldn't help but giggle a little at the grumpy scowl on his little face.

"Hey Lily! There you are, we were looking all over for you!" Lily turned around to see Remus, Sirius, James and young Julian headed their way.

"So that's where you disappeared off too." Lily quipped, quirking an eyebrow at Sirius, who whistled innocently and refused to look at her directly, causing Lily to roll her eyes.

"Are you boys ready to go?" she asked, noticing that both Elliot and Julian were beginning to get grumpy. James glanced at both his cousins and seemed to realize the same thing as Lily. He nodded,

"Yeah, its about time we headed back. Mum and Aunt Abby will get worried if we take too long." Lily nodded and stood up, coaxing Elliot away from the blocks and into her arms so she could pick him up. Frustrated with the disobedient blocks, he willingly abandoned them to be carried by Lily, snuggling his head in the crook of her neck with a content sigh before sticking his thumb in his mouth. James picked up the grumpy looking Julian, who hooked his arms around James' neck, before nodding to Sirius and Remus.

"Let's go." Sirius and Remus were admiring something Sirius held in his hand, but Sirius quickly shoved it in his pocket as James addressed them.

"After you Prongsette." Sirius said, sweeping his arm dramatically with a large grin on his face. Lily grit her teeth and rolled her eyes before stomping past Sirius, who shot a grin at Remus before following Lily. James led the way out, adjusting a sleepy looking Julian comfortably over his shoulder as Lily caught up with him and walked beside him. She observed how sleepy Julian looked.

"You know, I think these two could use a nap when we get back, then they can just sleep until dinner." James glanced over at Lily, noticing how sleepy Elliot looked cuddled up in Lily's arms. He nodded.

"You're right, they both look pretty tired."

The four teenagers and two toddlers walked in silence until they reached the leaky cauldron. By that time, both the children had fallen asleep; Julian was passed out on James' shoulder while Elliot was cradled comfortably in Lily's arms.

"Sirius, why don't you and Remus go first? Lily and I can take Julian and Elliot after you." James said as they stood in front of the fireplace. Sirius nodded, winking arrogantly at Lily (causing her to roll her eyes) as he and Remus stepped into the fire.

"The Potter Manor!" Sirius shouted, taking a handful of floo powder and throwing it at their feet. There was a flash of green light, and Remus and Sirius were gone. Lily coughed at the dust that rose up from the fireplace. When it cleared, she and James stepped into the fireplace, the two boys still in their arms. James grabbed a handful of the floo powder and threw it down, quickly wrapping his free arm protectively around Lily's shoulder before shouting, "The Potter Manor!"

Lily closed her eyes as there was a flash of green light and the familiar floo traveling feeling washed over her. Within seconds everything was still, and she cracked open her eyes to see they had arrived back.

Mrs. Potter and her sister were waiting with Sirius and Remus as James and Lily stepped out of the fireplace. Abby began to coo as she spotted her two boys fast asleep and ushered for James and Lily to follow her. Mrs. Potter followed her sister as the two women led Lily and James up to one of the spare bedrooms, where Mrs. Potter easily conjured two cribs for the boys.

"You can lay them in here." Abby said, gesturing towards the cribs. Her eyes widened as a small ping! Was heard from downstairs.

"_The food!_ She hissed quietly before dashing out of the room. James chuckled quietly as he carried Julian over to one of the cribs and carefully laid his cousin inside. Mrs. Potter conjured a blanket and tucked it around her sleeping nephew. Lily smiled and carried Elliot over to the other crib, gently laying him in and kissing his chubby cheek.

"Night cutey." She whispered. Mrs. Potter conjured another blanket and tucked it around her other nephew's sleeping form before placing a hand on both Lily and James' shoulders and leading them out.

"Let's let them sleep for a while, we'll wake them up around dinner time." She said, closing the door quietly behind her.

"Did you have a nice visit?" she asked, turning to face the two teens. Lily glanced at James, who was staring at her with a weird look in his eyes.

"Yeah, we had a real nice time."

**hahahhaha, the flubberworm line is _definatly_ my absolute favorite lol. I felt quite clever after coming up with that one :) sorry about the lame toy store name, but believe me, it was wayyyy worse before... also, if anyone has ideas on magical toys, i could use some ideas for Julian and Elliot's christmas gifts :)**

**I'm terribly sorry about taking so long, but i've sorta lost my muse, and I'm completely stuck. Not just with The Potter Boy, but with ALL my stories... it's really quite the pain in the butt....**

**anyways, thanks for sticking with me for so long. please review!! :)**


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